Unit 1 Study Guide: Reconstruction Era

Abraham Lincoln

16th President of the United States, issued the Emancipation Proclamation which declared all slaves in Confederate territory to be free

Andrew Johnson

17th President of the United States, became president after Lincoln's assassination, vetoed many of the Radical Republicans' plans for Reconstruction

Radical Republicans

group of Republicans in Congress who wanted a more thorough and rapid process of Reconstruction, pushing for stronger measures to protect the rights of African Americans

Wade-Davis Bill

bill proposed by Radical Republicans that would have made the process of readmitting Confederate states to the Union more difficult

10% Plan

plan proposed by President Lincoln that would have allowed a state to be readmitted to the Union once 10% of its voting population swore an oath of loyalty to the Union

Pardon/amnesty

granting forgiveness and restoring civil rights to individuals who had supported the Confederacy during the Civil War

Jim Crow Laws

enforced racial segregation and discrimination in the Southern states, primarily targeting African Americans

Ku Klux Klan

white supremacist group active in the South during the Reconstruction Era, known for committing acts of violence against African Americans

13th Amendment

amendment to the U.S. Constitution that abolished slavery and involuntary servitude.

14th Amendment

amendment to the U.S. Constitution that granted citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the United States, including former slaves

15th Amendment

amendment to the U.S. Constitution that granted African American men the right to vote

Grandfather Clause

restrictions that were put in place to prevent African Americans from voting, allowing those whose ancestors were eligible to vote before the Civil War to vote without meeting the new restrictions

Plessy v. Ferguson

Supreme Court case that upheld the constitutionality of racial segregation under the "separate but equal" doctrine

Suffrage

the right to vote

Effects of Reconstruction

period after the Civil War during which the Southern states were rebuilt and readmitted to the Union, and African Americans were granted citizenship and voting rights

Grant Administration

presidency of Ulysses S. Grant, who served as president during the Reconstruction Era

Failures of Reconstruction

inability to fully protect the rights of African Americans and the failure to bring about economic and social equality in the South

Successes of Reconstruction

granting of citizenship and voting rights to African Americans, the establishment of public schools and other institutions for African Americans, and the passing of laws to protect the rights of African Americans

Freedmen Bureau

agency established by the federal government to help newly freed slaves transition to freedom, providing education, food, and medical care

Voting Rights

right of citizens to participate in the political process by casting a vote in elections

Sharecropping

system of agriculture in which a landowner allows a tenant to use the land in exchange for a share of the crop produced on the land

End of Reconstruction

withdrawal of federal troops from the South and the end of the Reconstruction Era in 1877

Reconstruction’s Legacy

lasting impact of the Reconstruction Era on American society, including the granting of citizenship and voting rights to African Americans, the establishment of public schools and other institutions for African Americans, and the passing of laws to protect the rights of African Americans